Tuesday, July 12, 2016

Digital Dozes redoes Fashion - Chrome pigment pastel gradient

Digital Dozen week secretly sneaked up on me this month. I had no idea it was this week until last night. Then I had a dilemma. You see I had just received my chrome nail powder in the mail and I desperately wanted to play with it. That mean't I had to search the internet to find something remotely fashionable that was also chrome. Luckily I happened upon these Nike Area 72 Chrome Collection. Now I'm not sure if it was just the lighting in these photos that made the chrome look like pastel gradient chrome, or whether these shoes are simply that awesome, but either way, I took the interpretation literally and created a pastel gradient chrome mani.

Here they are together.

Ok, so these powdered chrome nails are everywhere right now, especially on instagram. I immediately ordered some of the silver chrome pigment from Daily Charme, and I've subsequently bought the gold and silver pigments from the Born Pretty store for way cheaper. I just have to wait for them to arrive now.

To say it was difficult for me to get the chrome look is a bit of an understatement. I think in the end I got there ok, but it was a trial.

I started with a peel of base coat and then a layer of white polish. Onto that I did a gradient using the Pipedream neons. I wanted something really bright to start with as I knew the colour was going to be really dulled out by the chrome finish. On top of the gradient I did a layer of gel top coat. I first used a layer of Dance Legend gel top coat, and while it cured perfectly and was super shiny, I wasn't able to rub in the pigment after I had wiped off the sticky layer. I also tried my Gelicious top coat and had the same problem.

Everything I've read online says that you get the best results with a 'no wipe' gel top coat. Of course I don't have one of those, and just used what I had. The other issue I had was with my eye makeup applicator. The only one I could find had spongy ends, but the plastic under the sponge was hard as a rock and make it really pointy and scratchy. In the end, what worked for me was using my finger to rub the chrome powder in. I was able to apply even and smooth pressure and got a much better result, although it also meant I had this silver glitter everywhere.

Speaking of which, this chrome powder is a bitch to clean up. I've not seen very many manis with this chrome powder where the cuticles looked clean, they usually are still sparkly and covered in stuff. I understand why!! I ended up using a scrubbing brush and soap to get most of mine off.

Finally, to finsih off this mani I did one coat of Dance Legend top coat. It worked perfectly and didn't dull the chrome effect at all. These also looked perfect at the end of the day too, which is pretty exciting.

I plan to do some comparisons when I get my Born Pretty powder, so see if the cheap stuff is as good as the expensive stuff, also to compare it to the chrome polishes. Plus, there is also a new holo version of this powder, but the want $40USD for a gram. I just don't think it's worth that, I'm holding out for the cheaper Chinese knock off.

This photo was taken without direct light and shows that the pastel finish was actually much less obvious compared to the photos taken under direct light.

My secret weapon when doing gel manis is my Picture Polish peel off glitter base. It works even better with gel polish because it's flexible and strong, which makes it so easy to peel off in one go.

Thank you from me too! I ordered the ones from Born Pretty too and was already dreading the mess (which you've just confirmed). BP has a kit with a black gel polish that I hope includes a no-wipe top coat since that's what I ordered.

This looks great!i fail to see paying over 20$ + shipping to Germany for the Powder. I just ordered the BPS set (gold & silver) and 3 of the flip-flop/Chameleon ones. All together for less than 20$. Also i just ordered 1 Version from my Gel/Acrylic Tools Onlineshop. I'm really excited to test the powders.

Does the peel off base coat work with all gel nails? Please tell me more. Does it still last long with peel off base coat or do you use it just for swatches? I hate soaking off the gel polish if I could find a work around that would be awesome!

I haven't tested it for very long, only about 4 days I say, but it still last well, but it's perfect for swatching or for one days wear. When I want it to last longer I make sure that the peel off base coat doesn't go all the way to the edge near my skin, that way the gel still has about 1mm where it it on the nail and seals in the peel off base. Then you just break that seal to peel later.

Your mani is stunning! The gradient is perfect and the chrome over it - WoW! Thank you for including how you went about it and all. I have seen a lot of buzz about this product. I don't do gel or acrylics, so I won't be getting or using it but I do like to see the pretties. :)